Israel is not doing enough in its war with Hamas - Danon

Likud MK and former Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon believes that Israel's leadership isn't doing enough in its war against Gaza, he told the Jerusalem Post's conference "The Second Front."

"The goal of the war is very simple: Bring the hostages back and defeat Hamas," he said. "If you'd have told me on the eve of October 7, that after two months, we'd be where we are today, I would have said 'no way.' We have to do more. We have to be more aggressive."

Danon added that the people of Israel expect their leadership to be strong and aggressive - and to understand that this time, the public won't accept a ceasefire or for the mission to be incomplete.

The MK also addressed the op-ed that he wrote with Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak for The Wall Street Journal in which they encouraged other countries to accept Gazan refugees. 

Danon explained that for the duration of the operation itself, Israel will allow Gaza civilians to move out of harm's way but that the op-ed was referring to the future. 

"Ram Ben Barak and I believe that countries should accept Palestinians who want to leave Gaza. We're not forcing anyone [to go], but once in a while, Arab countries speak about their brothers and sisters in Gaza, so why don't they accept refugees from Gaza? They speak the same language, they have the same religion. It's time to talk about allowing those who want to move to have an option for a better life somewhere else."

As to what happens with Gaza after the war, Danon agrees with his party's stance that the Palestinian Authority should not be given control of the Gaza Strip.

"Until now, I haven't heard any condemnation from the PA on the massacre of October 7," he said. "On the contrary, [PA minister] Jabril Rajoub issued a statement a few days ago saying that he understands why it happened.

"We allowed the PA to run Gaza in 2005," Danon said. "We gave them the keys and after a few months they started a civil war with Hamas and Hamas took over Gaza. We want something that is real, that is sustainable. We are open to different ideas."

Whatever idea is settled upon, however, will have to include Israel's ability to act against security threats from Gaza, the ambassador said. 

"We're not going to leave security in the hands of anyone else. Israel will have the freedom to move on security issues, similar to the set-up in the West Bank."

Meanwhile, Israel is also fighting a war of public diplomacy abroad as it faces heavy criticism, but Danon believes that the best thing for Israel's reputation would be to win the war in Gaza. 

"Once we defeat Hamas, we will deal with the international community and Israel's image," he said. "We have the moral support from other countries who support us."

According to Danon, an Israeli victory in Gaza will also greatly benefit the Jewish Diaspora, who has been faced with extremely high rates of antisemitism since the war began.

"The Jewish people will be empowered by victory," said Danon. "At the same time, I condemn all the antisemitic attacks against Jews, and we should demand more from the authorities in those countries."

Anti-Israel sentiments have also been strong in the United Nations and especially from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said the events of October 7 didn't happen in a vacuum. 

"I had no expectations from the UN itself because it always votes against us," Danon said. "But Guterres? That's a disgrace. I was shocked and very disappointed because I know him personally. I had him over for Shabbat dinner in New York.

'He saw the [Hamas] tunnels in the South. He knows exactly what we're dealing with, but what we've seen since October 7 is that he has become the spokesman for Hamas. That's something we cannot accept: The secretary-general of the UN amplifying the words of Hamas and justifying the acts of those terror attacks against our communities."

Danon added that he thinks Israel should demand of Guterres to resign and not work with him if he doesn't. 

"I'm calling on our colleagues and friends in the US not to work with Guterres if he continues to support Hamas and he doesn't denounce what's happening in Gaza," he said. "He talks about children there but not about ours or the hostages."

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